Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, TO H.B.S., by AUSTIN PHILIPS


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

TO H.B.S., by                    
First Line: Oh, life was utterly good that night
Last Line: And an hour of understanding!
Subject(s): Friendship - False Friends; Fair Weather Friends


OH, life was utterly good that night,
That night of a dull warm June,
When bite and sup and the kindly cup
Put friends—two friends—in tune:
The world without was unchanged, no doubt,
But we left the world behind us,
For you and I were as Gods on High,
With the Gods' own vice to bind us!

Give me an hour of generous talk
With a friend—true friends are few—
Of the goals we've sought and the fights we've fought,
And the blows we dealt and knew.
A free, frank talk of the roads we walk,
And the hope, high hope, we cherish,
With a heart-felt oath for the old-time sloth,
And a sigh for the loves that perish.

The voice of a woman is swift to soothe,
And a woman's lips are sweet,
But the woes we feel are for men to heal,
For the men who have known defeat:
So here's to the Gods that have set the odds
Too high for my own commanding,
But were pleased to send me a single friend ...
And an hour of understanding!





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